This is a brief report of an interview with Mr. Fensal Fate from Patukae School. Date 04/07/2011, 4:30pm. About the recent fish kill in the Marovo Lagoon.

The event that occurred at that time and in weeks following resulted in the deaths of thousands of fish and other marine life in the estimated 42 square km affected area in the Marovo Lagoon.

” ….. the sea turned from its original colour to yellowish and in some other parts greenish, large quantities of fish floated up to the surface struggling to survive but were found dead after a few days” – Mr Fensal Fate

He also said, that some old people had experienced such incident before but not in great numbers as what is happening now. Only one or two dead fish being seen floating around the coastal areas and even beside the mangroves.

Reports about the death of marine life has been sent via email to national and international authorities for possible assistance looking for the reasons behind the Marine deaths.

Teams from the Ministry of environment came to assess the situation and also a the from the University of Queensland under the supervision of Dr. Simon where they collected samples from the dead fish, turtles and other marine species which will be sent over to Australia for lab experiment.

People have been advised in the the affected area to not touch the sea or fish, until samples are process will tell the root cause of the fish kill. People are now dependent on root crops and vegetables for food”

See attach for some pictures of the event happening during the recent fish kill.

(Lydia, Patukae CHS)

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This interview was conducted as part of the Marovo Wiki OER workshop in the Marovo Lagoon

The Marovo wiki project supports the transmission of an indigenous pacific language, knowledge and worldviews from elders to youth. Developed in both the Marovo and English languages, the organization of content is facilitated by networking and an online community of practice which is based upon the extensive knowledge of the bio-physical environment possessed by the people of Marovo Lagoon. It’s more than 1,200 terms and definitions in the Marovo language follow an entirely Marovo cultural logic.

This is a post by Mr Nathaniel Nausi from Chubikopi Primary School interviewing Mr Charlie Vagara from the Patukae Community High school regarding the recent fish kill experienced in the central Marovo region during the month of June 2011.

Mr Vagara talked about the discoloration of the sea with greenish, brownish and traces of red colored water at some isolated places with in the affected area and also the mass death of aquatic creatures seen floating on the sea surface. Mr Vagara also talked about the water turbidity which was very low during the very high peak.

In simple terms we can say that we hardly can see through a depth of one meter from the sea surface.

The interviewee high lights that according to elders talked about how similar occurrence had occurred in the past though incredibly small and constricted to certain marine organisms such as fish.

Mr Vagara also pointed to large scale logging activities in the impacted area have contributed to the high level of sediments and nutrients that enters the sea; this is very evident when orange plumes covered the affected area during wet season.

The research team from the University of Queensland and the responsible department from the government such as the fisheries division came and assess the situation soon after the high peak.

Mr Vagara also spoke about the immediate impact on the people in the affected area will be very much related to mineral shortages or deficiency such as protein and the livelihood of people who depend entirely on sea resources for daily income certainly will be hampered for indefinite period.

Interview with Mr Jackson Busu

This is an interview carried out by teachers around the center of Marovo lagoon about fish killing in the area.

Mr Jackson Busu expressed in this interview that , the incident was a threat to people’s livelihood and daily diets, Nature is fighting back.

People in Marovo are wondering why this incident happened. The lagoon (sea) is the main source of daily food (diet) and income for people in this part of the Solomon Islands. He indicated that these issues have yet to be resolved

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This interview was conducted as part of the Marovo Wiki OER workshop in the Marovo Lagoon

The Marovo wiki project supports the transmission of an indigenous pacific language, knowledge and worldviews from elders to youth. Developed in both the Marovo and English languages, the organization of content is facilitated by networking and an online community of practice which is based upon the extensive knowledge of the bio-physical environment possessed by the people of Marovo Lagoon. It’s more than 1,200 terms and definitions in the Marovo language follow an entirely Marovo cultural logic.